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Top 10 Reasons to Support "A Platform to Revitalize America"

The federal deficit is expected to hit $1.326 trillion by the end of the fiscal year that ends in September. It is unacceptable that Washington continues to spend money that it does not have. A Platform to Revitalize America would balance the federal budget in just five years without raising taxes. The bold plan would achieve a $111 billion surplus in fiscal year 2017. This budget proposal is the only one that balances within the Balanced Budget Amendment Window, a measure supported by all 47 Republican senators.

2. It Would Repeal ObamaCare.

ObamaCare is an unconstitutional government takeover of health care. Repealing the massive, 2,801-page, multi-trillion-dollar law must be a main priority. In addition to actually increasing the cost of health care for families, the law undermines individual liberty by mandating that every American purchase health insurance. Instead of offering real reforms to reduce the cost of health care and promote patient-centered care, it will burden families and kill jobs in America. By creating new layers of bureaucracy between patients and their doctors, it could lead to government rationing of medical care.

3. It Would Repeal Dodd-Frank.

The Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law has stifled job growth while doing absolutely nothing to rein key instigators of the current economic crisis. A Platform to Revitalize America would get rid of this misguided law. Dodd-Frank only sets the stage for future financial meltdowns by expanding the powers of the Federal Reserve. Instead of allowing free-market mechanisms to set the right incentives for banks to make prudent lending decisions —where those who may profit are also the ones who will pay the cost of their own failure—the law sends the wrong message. It institutionalizes moral hazard by giving banks an incentive to partake in risky and high-reward lending choices.

4. It Would Privatize the TSA.

The Transportation Security Administration is an ineffective and abusive federal agency that violates the Fourth Amendment which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures. It is nothing more than security theater. Innocent Americans are being subjected to invasive body scanners and pat downs at the airport. We would be better off if we abolished the TSA and allowed airlines to provide their own private security. The private sector has far more incentives to provide better security that protects customers while treating them with respect and dignity.

5. It Would Shrink the EPA by 50 Percent.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is far too powerful. The federal agency has violated our fundamental right to private property while destroying countless jobs. A Platform to Revitalize America would cut the EPA in half to rein in their unchecked power and assault on Americans’ private property.

6. It Would Implement the REINS Act.

The executive branch has become out of control. Federal departments routinely disregard constitutional limits by enacting thousands of new regulations without proper approval from Congress. The American people are forced to comply with thousands and thousands of new rules and regulations issued by the executive branch annually. Every year, about 100 of these federal rules are considered “major rules” since they impose at least $100 million in annual compliance costs. The REINS Act would require Congressional approval for all “major rules” proposed by the executive branch.

7. It Would Reform Entitlement Programs by Blocking Granting Them to the States.

The current Medicaid system is based on top-down regulatory controls from Washington. State governments shoulder roughly half of Medicaid’s annual costs but they have virtually no say on how it is run. A Platform to Revitalize America would block grant Medicaid, SCHIP and food stamps to the states for them to design programs that best meets the unique needs of their citizens. Reducing federal control over these entitlement programs is a step in the right direction.

8. It is Bold Budget Proposal.

Our national debt has skyrocketed to over $15.5 trillion. We cannot afford to simply tinker around the edges. This is what a real budget proposal looks like. It would slash entire departments and cut $11 trillion compared to President Obama’s budget. Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Jim DeMint should be commended for introducing such an ambitious budget proposal.

9. It Closely Resembles the Grassroots-Generated Tea Party Budget.

The Senators’ plan closely resembles the grassroots-generated Tea Party Budget proposal. The Tea Party Budget was submitted to Congress last November by a 12-member citizens panel, the Tea Party Debt Commission. The idea for the panel came out of a meeting at FreedomWorks headquarters with more than 150 liberty activists from across the country. This goes to show that A Platform to Revitalize America will likely be supported by many grassroots groups around the country. FreedomWorks will be proudly encouraging our 1.5 million grassroots activist members to get behind it.

10. It Would Eliminate Four Cabinet Level Departments, Commerce, Education, Energy and Housing and Urban Development.

These four departments are entirely unnecessary and cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars annually. The Department of Education has been detrimental to the quality of education in America. A group of federal bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. cannot possibly design a curriculum that meets the unique needs of millions of school children across the nation. The Department of Commerce distorts the market by handing out corporate welfare to big, politically-connected companies. The Department of Energy has imposed harmful regulations that have increased the price of energy and hampered economic growth. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is filled with corruption and its costly public housing subsidies have failed.

On Wednesday, September 16, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held another important hearing to discuss reforming the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, more specifically in regard to S.356, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2015. This proposed amendment, which was introduced to the Senate in February by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), has somehow been continually ignored despite attracting 22 cosponsors in the Senate and almost 300 cosponsors in the House, enough for a comfortable supermajority.

Perhaps one of the most outrageous practices in the justice system is the use of solitary confinement for juvenile offenders, most of whom are nonviolent. The practice has many long-term mental effects that lead offenders into a cycle of poverty and crime from which they are often unable to escape. Of course, that assumes they ever make it out of a juvenile facility, considering a shocking statistic from a 2009 study from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs. The study found that over 50 percent of juveniles who committed suicide in detention facilities were in solitary confinement.

From coast to coast, states throughout the country are trying to find any way possible to escape the widespread mess of Common Core. Recently, a large number of Long Island schools were at the center of attention when they reported having the highest number of Common Core opt-outs in the nation. Due to the immense number of students who refused to take place in the intrusive and cumbersome standardized tests, two schools in Long Island risk losing their prized national "Blue Ribbon" award for academic excellence nominations.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is coming under some scrutiny from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The two Kentucky Republicans recently introduced the Federal Prisons Accountability Act, S. 1784, which would require the president to appoint the director of the agency and subject the nominee to Senate confirmation under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.

Sometimes a man’s just got to take a stand. Rand Paul did it his 13-hour filibuster on drone strikes, Ted Cruz did it in his 21-hour floor speech to defund ObamaCare, and now Mike Lee is invoking an obscure Senate procedure rule to completely repeal everyone’s least favorite health care law.

As one of our over 6.9 million FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to vote YES on the Lee amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act, S. 1177. This amendment would allow parents to opt their children out of standardized tests for any reason.

It’s rare when politicians in Washington can agree, and when they do, it’s usually bad news for liberty. But there’s an exception to every rule, and sometimes an idea is so obviously sensible that even the usual forces of reactionary partisanship aren’t enough to stand in its way.

Realizing spending was getting out of hand, Congress passed the 2011 Budget Control Act to cap spending on both defense and non-defense discretionary spending. However, Congress being Congress, they have become adept at finding ways to increase spending beyond the caps without technically going above the caps.

Yesterday, Senator Rand Paul proved yet again that he is dedicated to upholding the Constitution. For eleven hours, the Kentucky Senator claimed the senate floor to filibuster the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, which permits mass surveillance of American citizens. Warrantless spying and bulk data collection has been a massive infringement on our basic fourth amendment rights. Even 65% of American adults believe there are not adequate limits on the telephone and internet data that the government collects, according to a recent Pew poll.